


High Expectations

by Dionynic



Category: Monster of the Week (Tabletop RPG)
Genre: Canon Backstory, Canon-Typical Violence, Childhood Memories, Growing up in Hell, Hell, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:06:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27746446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dionynic/pseuds/Dionynic
Summary: A few stories about Valencia's past, partially focused on her childhood and teenage years with some snippets of her adulthood pre-game.
Kudos: 6





	1. Lesson Number One

_ Tick, tick, tick… _

“Ha! Got it!” Called the small voice of the black haired demon, jumping down from the bars and on to the floor. She turned triumphantly to her sister who was still only halfway through the bars. Desdemona glared back at her and pulled herself forward again. Valencia could see her sister straining to grip the bars and she felt another surge of triumph run through her. Desdemona wasn’t perfect after all!

With that thought, Valencia glanced over at her dad. Avarice was finishing jotting something down before his gaze turned back to Desdemona. His face gave nothing away, just a stern stare. It was impossible to tell if he was proud of disappointed or just unsurprised. She didn’t expect any congratulations, but some sort of acknowledgment would be nice. Even if he just read her time out! She huffed and sat to the side, watching as her sister eventually lost her grip and fell to the padded ground beneath the bars.

“Shit!” Cried Desdemona, jolting back up to her feet and hissing in frustration. Their father headed over to the older of the two, inspecting her for injuries for a moment before stepping back and nodding. He grabbed his clipboard again and began jotting down a couple notes. Valencia was soon joined by Desdemona and they both quietly watched Avarice write. After a bit, he finally looked up, tapping the clipboard with his pen. 

“This went about how I expected,” he began coolly, “Valencia, keep up your time, try to beat your record. Desdemona, we must work on your endurance. We can’t have you flailing behind your younger sister.” With that, Avarice turned and began walking out “Take a break while I get your book lesson ready for the day.”

“Guess you can’t be good at everything.” Valencia teased, bumping against Desdemona playfully. The ten year old rolled her eyes and brushed herself off, regaining her composure. 

“Whatever, as soon as we get to an actual lesson, you’ll have trouble even reading a single page.” She grinned a crooked grin and then crossed her arms “Of course, if you  _ really  _ don’t want to make a fool of yourself in front of dad after that…” she paused “excellent performance, we could always come to a compromise.”   
  
“Not happening!” Valencia walked out of the room, rushing to find their mother. By this time of day, she likely wouldn’t be out topside yet. The house shoes she wore click clacked against the perfectly laid tile of the hallway as she made her way through, passing by room after room. For anyone else, this place would be a labyrinth, but Valencia hardly got lost anymore. A couple of years ago she had, but at this point, she’d learned which room was which. After a bit, she finally stopped at a room and knocked. A soft voice let her come in and she rushed inside, going over to the figure in the chair.

Astrid sat in front of an easel, staring up at it as her daughter came in. Once she was close, Astrid turned and looked at Valencia, smiling warmly. “So, how did training go?” She asked, setting aside the brush she’d had in her hands, and holding her arms out. Valencia let herself fall into a hug.

“Pretty good! Dad said that I’m doing better than Desdemona is. She even fell off the bars today! After I already jumped down!” Deep red eyes brightened as she got to brag to her mother about how well she’d done. Astrid nodded along to her daughter’s rambling, waiting until she seemed to be finished to speak.   
  
“I’m very proud of you Valencia, you’ve done so well.” She brought the seven year old up to her lap and turned to the painting in front of her. “I’m working on a painting to try and liven this place up a little more. Would you like to help me choose some colors?” Valencia nodded and Astrid pulled up a bucket filled with tubes of different paints. The two of them went through the different paints before deciding on a few colors together. Astrid let Valencia dip her hand into some of the paint, watching her as she made some red handprints on the canvas. She put her own hand in blue paint and put a few of her own handprints on the canvas. “There, now we just have to convince your father and Desdemona to help, and we can have a little family hand portrait.”

“Valencia!” Called the mildly annoyed voice of Avarice and mother and daughter looked at eachother. Astrid stood and picked Valencia up, rushing her to the bathroom. She carefully shoved her in, letting her wash her hands while Astrid went to tell Avarice that Valencia would have to be a couple minutes late. She was helping her mother with something very important, and he wouldn’t want to pull her from something like that, would he? Avarice had clearly relented as Astrid came back calmly, helping Valencia clean up in a very non-rushed manner. Once they were finished, Astrid placed a finger in front of her lips and smiled. Valencia repeated the gesture before rushing off to join Avarice and Desdemona in the studying room. This wasn’t the first time that Astrid pulled away either of her daughters from their studies and it certainly wasn’t the last. The three of them were sure that Avarice knew, but he never said anything about it. Whether that was because he simply loved Astrid too much to argue, or because he’d tried to argue and had been shut down, only Avarice and Astrid truly knew.


	2. A Disappearance

Two years came and went, Desdemona and Valencia continued to train alongside each other, both of them beginning to grow in certain skillsets. Avarice made sure they were both taught the same, but strategy and problem solving simply came easier to Desdemona. She was a natural at cheating and everyone was quickly made aware of ti. Valencia refused to play any game that wasn't fully reliant on chance with her, and even then she seemed concerned about Desdemona winning through some sort of trickery. Meanwhile, Valencia outmatched her older sister in terms of physicality. Avarice wouldn't truly begin teaching them to fight yet, but Valencia was simply stronger and faster. It seemed easier for her to come up with a plan in these situations. He would wait for a while to hone their skills, but it was important that they noted where their strengths were for now. 

Today, unlike most, Avarice is out on the job, as well as the handful of demons that he'd usually trust with Valencia and Desdemona's training. Thus, they end up having a break. The two of them spent some time in the beginning of the day exploring the grounds of the estate. They were both careful to keep on Wick property, knowing that the environment they stood on could change the second they stepped over the bounds of their land. Though, that wasn't a particularly difficult task. The Wicks carved out quite the territory for themselves within Hell, so it was easy for the kids to stay within it. They spent a while playing outsdie before coming back in. 

Desdemona was quick to head off to her own room, and Valencia, not particularly concerned with what her sister was doing, headed off to go talk to their mother. She went to her mother's studio first, poking her head inside only to find an empty room. She frowned and pulled her head back, going further down the hall. If she wasn't in her studio, then perhaps she'd be in her and Avarice's bedroom. Valencia made her way to the room and carefully knocked on the door. "Mom? Are you in there?" She called out, bouncing on her heels as she waited to see if the door would open up. It took a few moments before the door finally opened. Astrid was dressed up in a flowy black dress, her wrists and neck adorned in pretty silver jewelry.

"Valencia, hello sweetheart." She greeted and stepped out into the hallway "Did you need something?"

"I wanted to play.." she watched as her mother checked her bag for something and then carefully shook her head. She gave her daughter a sympathetic look, reaching over and giving her a brief pat on the head.

"I'm sorry kiddo. I'm not going to be able to just yet. I have a deal I have to get to, but I'm sure that once I get back, we can play. It's just a simple and quick deal, won't take very long." She gave Valencia an encouraging smile. "It'll probably be shorter than normal anyhow, the human seems kinda dull so I bet it'll be quicker than a flash! You'll hardly even notice that I was gone." Astrid pulled out a glove, sliding it onto her hand before sliding a piece of white chalk. She started heading to the travelling room, Valencia following closely at her heels. She followed her all the way to the room and watched as Astrid used the chalk to begin drawing on the floor, inscribing different sigils onto the floor. Astrid gestured to Valencia to stay outside the room and the nine year old continued to watch for a few moments before rushing off. She ran into one of the rooms and got out a small pack of chalk, grabbing a red piece and shoving it into her pockets before rushing back to the room and watching as Astrid disappeared.

Valencia acted quickly to try and mimic the circle in another part of the room. The lines were shaky and unsure but they seemed to work well enough. Valencia was dropped into some bushes and she quickly sat up, peeking out of them and grinning when she noticed her mother. She'd done it! She successfully made it to Eatth! She'd made it where the humans are! This was super awesome. More awesome than beating Desdemona at any game!

Aster paced around an area, glancing around as she waited for whichever contact she was waiting for. Both of them glanced over as a van parked nearby and a neatly dressed man walked out. Astrid stiffened up but said nothing as he began walking over. She started walking towards him but suddenly stopped and looked down. Valencia's breath caught in her throat and she leaned forward to try and look at what had stopped her mother.

"You... you bitch." Astrid hissed, claws shifting out as she crouched down a little, looking ready to attack this neatly dressed man. He only smiled and gestured towards someone Valencia couldn't see. A few more neatly dressed people came and rushed Astrid, all of them grabbing at her and beginning to pull her away. She did her best to try and fight against them but she was vastly outnumbered. "Ava-!" she began to yell out for her husband but she was pushed into the van and it sped away. Once it had sped away, Valencia jumped out of the bush and began looking around. She looked over where Astrid had been standing and slowly moving closer. There seemed to be a very light outline of something she didn't understand but would later realize was a ward to trap demonic creatures. 

Valencia backed up and looked around, her shoulders slumping. "Mom?" She called, staring in the direction the van went. Humans couldn't keep her locked in there, could they? She'd get free and come back to get back home. She'd have to, wouldn't she? Valencia waited like that for a whole day before she realized that maybe they truly had gotten her. But how were humans able to do something like that? Her father had always told her that humans were much weaker than they were. So how had they captured her mother? Tears pricked at her eyes but she kept her cool as best as she could before she began walking around. Fear burned deep in her belly as she realized that she didn't know how to get back home. She wandered for days upon days before Avarice finally found her and brought her back home. Astrid was gone. The heart of the family had been taken away from them. From then on, things were never quite the same.


	3. Awkward Teen Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Avarice isn't a horrible father.

It was rare that Desdemona and Valencia came to matters like this. Well, to be fair, Desdemona had been invited by their father and Valencia ended up showing up because Avarice decided he just had to have both of his daughters there for some odd reason. There were a bunch of demons gathered around a long table, talking in hushed whispers about some sort of plan. Desdemona was sat next to her father and she gave a subtle smirk to Valencia who rolled her eyes and leaned agains tthe wall, crossing her arms. She'd been stuck with some other kids, apparently fourteen was just too young to listen in on their plans but seventeen wasn't? That didn't seem fair to her, but whatever. At least she wasn't the only one her age. Valencia looked over at another demon her age, she had short red hair with eyes to match, small horns hidden within it. She'd learned earlier that her name was Azalea and Valencia thought it was quite the fitting name. Both the flower and the girl were pretty.

Red eyes stared back at Valencia's own and she looked away quickly, just realizing that she'd probably been staring at her just a little bit too long. _Nice going Valencia,_ she thought to herslef, _really just excellent work._ She felt a tap on her shoulder and she whirled around, coming face to face with Azalea now. Valencai could feel her face burn with embarrasment and she started to take a step back when she realized that she was still standing against the wall. There was nowhere to retreat back to.

"Hey uh, Azalea. Sorry about that, I wasn't really looking at you, just sort of thinking about some stuff and looking-"

"Directly at me." Azalea interrupted, seeming much more amused than Valencia had expected her to. "You wanna fight?" She asked, laughing a little after she did.

"No, of course not!" She paused, considering "Unless _you_ want to fight? Because that would be super cool with me." Valencia smiled at Azalea, trying to push down the nervousness that she felt as she continued to stare at the demon before her. What was even going on with her? She hadn't felt this nervous about anything in a long time and she wasn't sure why Azalea made her nervous like this. Maybe pretty girls just made her nervous. She was sure Desdemona would relentlessly bully her about that one if she ever said it out loud.

"Maybe I'll think about it." Azalea said, looking away as her name was called, she looked back at Valencia and smiled "See you later." She headed off to a woman who seemed to be her mother and followed her out. Did the meeting really have to end already? They hadn't been there for that long, had they? The demon kids around her swarmed to get to their parents and left with them. As she'd been told before the meeting, Valencia waited for Avarice and Desdemona to come to her. The three of them went back home together and the second that Desdemona disappeared in her room, Avarice touched Valencia's shoulder. He stared at her silently for a moment, a silent question being asked. But she didn't quite know what it was.

"Yes sir?" She asked, fidgeting awkwardly as she tried to figure out if she'd done anything she shouldn't have.

"Who was that?" Was all he asked, he didn't seem angry or irritated or anything, simply curious.

"Azalea."

"I see." He stared at her for a moment longer before the corner of his mouth twitched upwards "First crush then."

"What? No! Of course not!" Valencia felt her face burn again, only to feel even more embarrassed when her dad laughed - _laughed -_ at her. That man never laughed and now when he did, it was about this! She wanted nothing more than to curl up in her room for the next century. Avarice patted her shoulder, done with his laughing now and mostly back to a straight face. Although some trace of his earlier amusement seemed to remain.

"Don't worry too much about it. We'll be seeing them again soon enough so..." He trailed off and walked away, leaving his statement just at that. For a moment, she was excited at the fortine of seeing them again. She'd actually be able to talk more to her new.. friend? Yeah, friend would work for now. She headed back to her room to work on other things, humming all the while. For the rest of the night, she was in a pretty good mood, assuming that luck was on her side just this once. Maybe she'd get her first girlfriend! She briefly wished that her mother could be there to give her advice and help her through. But there was no point in wishing and she shoved the thoguth out of her head before getting on with her day. Of course, not too long after, Valencia realized that Avarice probably set it up so they'd meet with that family again, but he would never admit to doing such a thing. But still, it was appreciated.


	4. Welcome to Night City

It was a year after Desdemona left, the estate felt larger and emptier now that it was just Valencia and Avarice. On the one hand, Valencia's training was getting more specialized, the sixteen year old was better at hand to hand combat than some of the demons she had faced off against a poorly trained or untrained human would be no trouble to take down. A better trained one would cause a bit more trouble but Valencia didn't back down. Every fight was just as important as the last. Whether that was just to keep her reputation or to secure her right to live. Either way, Valencia had been raised to be lethal. On the other hand, when Avarice was gone, she had little to no company, nothing to do. She had Azalea when they got in contact, but it still wasn't the same. 

One day when Avarice was out, Valencia packed a bag, taking some of the most important things that she could and shoving them in haphazardly. Afterwards, she took one last wander around the estate. When she passed by some of the doors, quiet screams and gentle weeping could be heard from some of them, but she paid them no mind. Eventually, she stopped at one of the doors and gently pushed it open. 

Astrid Wick's studio sat untouched, it had for the past seven years. Valencia made her way around the room, absentmindedly running her fingers over long forgotten paintings. She stopped by one, four different colors were pressed all over the canvas with obvious handprints. A painting done by the whole family. Valencia pressed her hand on one of the handprints that she had made, marvelling at how much bigger her hand had grown. How much bigger she was. How much time had passed. Reluctantly, she pulled her hand back and began looking around the room a little more. She opened drawers and looked through them, shifting things around as if looking for something specific. 

Eventually, Valencia pulled out a hand drawn journal that her mother had done and she paused, beginning to flip through the pages. Different sigils and their uses were scribbled down together. Summoning circles and teleportation. It was all very complicated but pretty well put together. It would take a long time for Valencia to understand each and every page, but there was at least one page she could understand. 

Valencia shoved Astrid's journal into her bag and headed off to another room she hadn't been in in seven years. The room where Astrid had scribbled down the last teleportation circle she'd ever used. On the way, she grabbed some chalk and headed into the room. Following directions that her mother had laid out, she made a circle and set the chalk down. She got ready to jump through before she paused. There was a long moment of silence before she grrabbed the chalk again, standing up and heading to the wall, sprawling a quick message on the board that simply read 'I'll see you again soon' she thought about it for a moment before writing 'I love you.'

With that, she set the piece down and hopped through the portal she had made. When she appeared, she looked around the building she'd landed in. It was still pretty quiet, the building seeming to be long abandoned. Dust covered everything and sunlight shone through cracks in the walls and the ceiling. The building was ready to crumble but seemed to hold itself together out of pure spite.

Night City was now Valencia's new home for the time being, and she'd just have to make the most of it.

By the time that she was eighteen Valencia had found her rhythm. The Combat Zone was an important place for her, somewhere she could continue to train and live in a way that aligned with her instincts. A demon in Night City. She didn't have a huge reputation of course, she would disappear when she was too injured, take time to recover and get back out when she could. Darting in with cold violence and darting back out just like that. It was odd when you weren't incredibly well known but your name did float aroudn ocassionally. Some people who knew of her had decided that she was truly a demon, while others just thought it was a title. Which was interesting. She'd never considered the fact that many humans didn't actually know about creatures beside themselves. Which was a weird thought to her. How simple minded were humans that they believed only they existed. 

Valencia spent two years, from age sixteen to eighteen, weaving around Night City, getting used to the way that she lived there and carving a life out for herself. That was until another demon came to the city. However, she didn't notice until she'd actually bumped into the demon. It was terrifying, because for the first time in a while, she was so gravely outmatched by a creature that could destroy her completely. Not even an hour later had Valencia fetched her things and ran from the city. For all she cared, this demon could have this place. She hadn't staked a claim on it yet so she wasn't too torn up about having to leave. She'd just have to find another place to stake her claim on. And with that, Valencia began to travel.


	5. Night Meeting

"Thanks." Valencia said as she hopped out of the car that had taken her into the city. She exchanged a nod with the driver before he sped off. The two had a deal, she got rid of a minor demon issue and he would give her a lift to Panacea. The demon had been little issue, just a weak one, kind of shitty to humans and a minor annoyance to its own kind. Like a mosquito.

The first thing she noticed about the city was its energy. Untainted by any demonic presence quite yet. At least, nothing at her level or above. Despite the absence of presence, Panacea had offered demons quite the break not too long ago in their comparitively expansive history. The Corporate Wars had demons clocking out just to watch the ways that humans destroyed each other without any outside help. Much of her childhood had been defined by it. Valencia took a deep breath in and began to walk, watching as people walked by her, living their average lives not paying attention to Panacea's newest resident. They didn't know what had just arrived, how could they? A smile was painted across her face as she wandered around the city, letting herself get acquainted with the layout.

Avarice had always told her that a good ruler would know their territory like the back of their hand, and Valencia inteded on one day owning these streets. Maybe not soon, but somehow, someday. The only question was how.

* * *

Valencia had been here for a little while now, picking fights where she could, sleeping where she could, something she was used to having an easier time doing in Night City. Well, easy was an interesting way of putting it, but people were generally more combative there and it feuled her. After all, cruelty seemed to be a driving force in her very existence, like she was born to break bones and send the strongest people she met down to their knees. 

The moon shone down on the city, bathing everything in a soft light. The young demon walked freely, feeling more confident with the night that had fallen over the city. She made her way to the warehouse district, with any luck, she'd find a place to hole up and perhaps a couple of people hanging around, up to no good. She was walking by some store that ddin't look too obviously busy when she head a bit of a commotion. Pausing, she looked over at what was going on, noticing a couple of larger dudes on either side of this stick of a young woman, her voice was soft enough that Valencia couldn't make out what she said, but the two men had annoyingly loud voices, the kind that made her tempted to tear out their vocal cords. But then, perhaps this had been part of the opportunity she'd been looking for.

Now, Valencia wasn't in the habit of good deeds. She'd never claimed to do them and usually wouldn't be caught dead doing something nice for a stranger. But in this case, she was going to get exactly what she was looking for. Maybe it would benefit this lady, but she couldn't bring herself to care all that much. And so, she walked over nonchalantly, beginning to trail them as she walked. She could hear the quiet, nervous laughter of the young lady before her and she stretched carefully, cracking her knuckles as she prepared. She moved up to the side of the taller one, glancing up at him as she spoke.

"Mind if I have a word with you two boys?" Her voice was low and deadly calm, shoving her hands into her pockets as her claws ached to extend and sink themselves into flesh. The two men looked at each other over the lady who began slipping from between them. As they focused back on Valencia, the woman managed to duck away, running off towards safety. A smart idea. This wouldn't be pretty.

"What the fuck do you want?" The shorter man with sandy blonde hair spoke, watching as the woman rushed off, clearly annoyed that Valencia had ruined his fun. _How sad for you, I'm mourning the loss, really,_ Valencia thought. She moved herself in the now empty space between them in one fluid motion.

"My apologies but i'm a little frustrated and well, I have to get rid of my anger" she slipped her brass knuckles on in her pocket "you understand, don't you?"

The fight was quick and bloody and Valencia had never felt more alive in the past few days than she had as she kicked the blonde down to the concrete beneath them, watching as he hit the ground with a crack that was sure to be causing him trouble in the morning. A lighter and a pack of cigarettes fell out of his pocket and instantly, she dove for them, snatching them both up quicker than the remaining man whi swayed on his feet could blink. She lit one up, taking a drag before tossing the rest of the pack aside.

"Don't you two worry too much about this" she said, voice condescending with thinly veiled laughter "you weren't properly prepared for this. I almost feel bad."

The brown haired man began to move towards her and she let out a low chuckle. "Almost." With that, she flicked the cigarette to the ground where it caught the blonde's jacket. She didn't pause to see what would happen after that, just turned and began walking away. They'd have to deal with that one. 

She wasn't alone with her thoughts for long though as someone came to her side, quiet as they walked for a bit.

"Can I help you?" Valencia asked, annoyance flaring up inside her as she wondered if this random person would continue to follow her for the whole night if she let them do so. Their hair shifted color gradually under the street lamps and Valencia found herself wondering if they were human. Most likely, but one could never be too sure.

"The name's Charter, and I have a proposition for you." Their voice was smooth like honey and Valencia found that she didn't trust it one damn bit. "I haven't seen you around much so I'm gonna go ahead and guess that you're pretty new here...." They trailed off, looking at her expectantly. What did they- oh. They wanted a name from her. She was quiet for a moment, deciding whether or not she wanted to give a real name. They probably hadn't given her a real one. Seriously, what kind of name was Charter? It kind of reminded her of...

"Are you from Night City?" She asked, ignoring her own introduction in favor of grilling this new person.

"You answer my question and I'll think about answering yours." Came their quick response and Valencia huffed. If she wanted answers she'd have to give up her own first. Alright. She could play that game.

"Valencia Wick." She spared them both from the nice to meet you bit but Charter didn't seem to mind that. Or at least, they didn't say anything if they did. "Now, where are you from?"

"I've been to Night City." Charter answered, notably avoiding answering the question of where they were from. Well, she supposed she couldn't blame them. Not like she would answer a question like that either. Most people wouldn't even believe her if she said she'd come from Hell. They'd probably make an assumption about some place that was supposed to be Hell on Earth and no matter what they guessed they would still be wrong. "Like I was saying before, I have a proposition." Charter's words pulled her from her thoughts and the two of them continued to walk side by side.

"What is it?"

"I can set you up here if you'd like. Help you get everything sorted out." Their offer seemed pretty nice but Valencia was quick to be suspicious.

"And what would it cost me?"

"I imagine you don't have much in the way of payment" they continued before she was able to lose her temper "so, think of it as an IOU. I'll tell you what I need when I need it, won't ask too much in return. It'll be a fair trade." She almost thought they were going to say _trust me_ but it seemed like they both knew better than that. "Of course, I don't need you to take me up on it right now." They slipped her a business card and flashed a smile "Find me when you're ready to take me up on that offer." And just like that, Valencia was left alone once more, business card in hand. She looked down at it for a long moment before shoving it in her pocket and heading on with her journey. She'd have some things to think about tonight.


	6. Hunting License

Valencia had ended up taking Charter’s offer. They couldn’t do much in the way of getting her a decent place to stay, but she did well enough with the apartment she had. It was basically the attic but it was enough space for her and her things so she couldn’t complain. She worked a couple of bodyguarding jobs when she could and she even had a fake identity now. Specifically for paperwork purposes and the like. After all, she had no records as Valencia Wick so she had to get something down on paper so she could actually get paid and pay rent. Valencia wasn't sure whether or not this would continue to work out well for her, but so far it was doing the trick.

The city stayed pretty clear of other demonic presences, providing a decent place for Valencia to do as she saw fit, to try and mess around with anything that she could in any way she could. Of course, never enough that she'd have to move again or that she'd put herself in too much of a light, but she still did what she could. This seemed to work out pretty well until it didn't. It was a month, maybe two of her new arrangements when she noticed that she was being followed. She didn't know how long they'd been following her. If this was just the first time she was noticing or this man was getting more and more bold. Either way, there was someone following her and she wasn't quite sure why. She didn't really recognize him so it couldn't be someone she'd fought, coming back for a second round. Plus, they seemed content just to follow and not to interact. Perhaps a friend or lover of someone she'd foguht trying to terrorize her? That made a little more sense but she still wasn't certain. 

She let this continue for a bit, trying to get a proper read on this stranger with no real luck on doing so. What the hell did he want with her? It was starting to freak her out a little bit and she wanted exactly no part in that.

With her nerves on fire, she set out again on what was otherwise a pretty average seeming day. She could swear that her stalker walked a little closer than normal today. It didn't take her long to whirl around and lock eyes with her stalker. He was shorter than she'd expected him to be but he was a rather stocky guy, he wore a long coat that seemed to just barely avoid touching the ground. It was like he was a detective in an old shitty movie. His hands were in his pockets and she was quick to realize that he absolutely was here to fight. 

"You know, it's impolite to follow a lady without talking to her for, how long have you been following me now?" She had her own hands shoved in her pockets, ready at any moment to pull out her own weapon. This was how it was going to be then.

”Maybe so.” The man conceded, slowly and cautiously pulling out a dagger from his coat. It looked like a nasty thing, could certainly rip apart a human. It would rip her apart too, but it certainly couldn’t do that much damage, could it? “I know what you are.” His voice broke through her thoughts and she narrowed his eyes at him. “You’re a demon, aren’t you? You don’t belong somewhere like here and if no one else is going to get rid of you, I will.” 

Valencia was now certain that that dagger was holy. It would destroy her if he knew how to properly use it. Or at the very least, it would hurt like hell. She readied herself, dropping into stance, just like her father had taught her, and she narrowed her eyes.

”Come on then, I don’t have all day to waste on the likes of you.” She hissed, pushing her terror far down into the pits of her stomach. She wouldn’t let him see that he was getting to her, she couldn’t. Or else, what kind of demon was she? Certainly not one that could rule a city. He began to push himself forward and she readied herself when a figure slipped between them, facing the man head on.

”I’m going to need you to settle down, sir.” The new arrival spoke matter-of-factly, staring at the now dumbfounded man in front of both Valencia and whoever the hell this new person was. “I understand if you’re upset about something, but you don’t want to do this.” None of what this new arrival said seemed to be any sort of suggestion. Not quite a command but simple statements that felt as though they left no room for questions. The two argued back and forth for a bit but when this new person stepped towards the man, he was quick to back down and leave the two of them alone. Valencia had a pretty decent feeling that this would be the last time she saw this man.

The new arrival had darker skin than Valencia and her eyes and short hair were both a dark brown. Everything about this woman seemed dark and earthy, even her outfit was earth toned. “Are you hurt?” She asked and Valencia shook her head in response.

”I’m fine, thanks I guess?” She wasn’t sure of her reasons for saving Valencia, but she couldn’t imagine that this was just some Good Samaritan shit. Well, maybe it was karma? She’d done that one good deed, hadn’t she? “I’m Valencia.” She introduced herself plainly, awkwardly pausing before holding her hand out to shake.

”Mor.” She responded, staring at Valencia’s hand for a moment before shaking it. Mor’s grip was firm but the handshake was so short that Valencia hardly had the time to notice. And after that, she turned heel and began to wander away.

”Hey wait, what’d you do that for?” Valencia called out to her, causing Mor to pause and look over her shoulder.

”Did you want him to stab you?”

”Well no, but-“

”Don’t worry about it.”

Valencia was absolutely concerned, but she quickly decided that she’d just try again another day. Perhaps today just wasn’t the day to be out and about.


	7. Hound Dog

Valencia was out and about again, on her way to the store actually. There were some foods she was interested in picking up just so she had something to snack on and she had enough money to get them, so why not? She headed to the store, picked up her snacks and began on her way home. The trip there had been unremarkable and the store even more so. She opened the package of cookies she'd picked up, taking one out and starting in on it. Distantly, a dog barked and she tried to ignore it but it only continued, annoyingly so. She sighed and finished off the cookie, shoving the package back into the bag before slipping it over her shoulder and heading to where the sound was coming from.

A medium sized dog was barking and wagging its tail, staring up at a completely horrified looking woman who seemed to want to press herself as far against the wall of the building she was leaning on as much as she possibly could. As though she thought that she could meld into it.

For a moment, Valencia wonders if she'd somehow missed something. Was this perhaps a truly terrifying beast with some sort of glamor on it? Or maybe it was a hell hound, only really not terrifying to someone like her? But no, it just seemed like a dog. A regular Earth dog. No snarling or viciousness. Hell, it seemed downright friendly. Truth be told, Valencia hadn't spent all that much time on Earth so she couldn't properly say, but it had never occured to her that someone could be afraid of dogs. Annoyance soon won over her amusement and she slipped between the dog and the woman, looking down at the creature who backed up a little and looked at the new person curiously. 

"Go! Shoo!" Valencia shooed the dog away, not taking too awfully long to do so. It's barking had stopped and it went off, probably to go beg for scraps from someone. She looked over her shoulder at the woman she'd decided to help and- oh.

Maybe it was the look of her skin or maybe it was something else but Valencia was sure that this new person wasn't entirely human. 

"You alright?" She asked, looking her over for a moment longer before readjusting the bag, ready to start heading back to her place. The woman seemed to be slowly calming down, carefully pushing herself off the wall.

"Yes, I'm alright." Came her response and she seemed to finally perk up "Thank you so much for saving me, I'm Lije." She held her hand out to Valencia and the two of them shook hands. Lije's grip wasn't like Mor's had been and Lije shook for just a little too long. Valencia pulled her hand away and nodded to her.

"Yeah, no problem." She turned and began walking away but she head footsteps behind her. For a moment, she just kept going, not bothering to look back and see. They were probably going to end up going seperate ways so there was no reason to engage Lije in any further conversation. However, the footsteps continued to follow, trailing behind Valencia until Lije caught up, walking by her side now.

"That was a really brave thing you did... you didn't introduce yourself actually, what's your name?" Lije seemed just as curious as that dog had been earlier and Valencia wondered if she'd be able to shake her if she attempted to try wandering off once more.

"Valencia." She responded in a short tone, trying to indicate the conversation being over, but Lije didn't seem like she was going to be getting the picture any time soon. 

"Well Valencia, like I said, I really appreciate your help." Lije smiled at Valencia and the demon sighed quietly, having a feeling that she'd see Lije around much more than she intended to and by no choice of her own. And with time, it turned out that that assumption was absolutely correct. Lije followed her around like a duckling followed their mother and she eventually even grew on Valencia in some odd way. Kind of like getting used to having a pet that you hadn't originally wanted which was an odd way to put it, but it was the best way she could put it/ Either way, they got along well enough and Valencia was quietly greatful for the companionship, though she'd never mention that out loud.


End file.
